Newbie & incubating, Day 6! Candling?

[LoneCowboy]

Yeah, the numbering thing is what I'm going to do. Of course you have to remember that yesterday I really had no intention of candling at all, so I wasn't prepared.

I did however recandle a few after PMing Cyn, and yep I see veins.

Yes, my eggs were shipped. I was really worried because they were shipped over Thanksgiving, and I was afraid they might have gotten too cold somewhere.

 

[speckledhen]

I think after you see those veins and know the chicks are growing, it makes it a little easier to relax since you aren't wondering anymore.

 

[LoneCowboy]

Ok, I checked them all out. 4 are for sure good. (if I didn't kill them) 4 seem clear, but it's hard to tell at this point, and one the shell is so thick I can't see anything. So basically 5 are questionable.

 

[speckledhen]

Use as a rule of thumb to never toss an egg until Day 12-14, unless it's quite definite that it's completely clear or has a blood ring. If an egg has no odor, even if it isn't fertile, it won't blow up in the bator to leave it a few days to be certain.

 

[d_rooster]

Squirrel,

I'm still hanging in there with my Silkie eggs. This evening made the beginning of day 7 for my six eggs in the incubator. So, I candled them tonight and saw significant movement in 5 of them. The sixth one has no veins present, but it does have the classic blood ring that goes almost all the way around the egg with no little dark colored moving embryo like the others. I was pretty sure that this sixth egg was a blood ring, so I removed it from the incubator. I don't want any exploding or stinking eggs in my 'bator.

I am still excited for the remaining 5 eggs as they each look like they have a little shrimp with dark eyes swimming around in them. I added a new thermometer today that is a laboratory thermometer which should be ultra accurate. My digital Accurite thermometer is reading about 100.2 to 100.4 while the lab thermometer inserted into the water wiggler is reading 37.6 Celsius or 99.68 degrees Fahrenheit. That's so incredibly close to desired 99.5 degrees F. in the wiggler that I'm not going to dare touch the temperature adjustment on my incubator.

Meanwhile, broody Betty, is still sitting like a trooper on the other six Silkie eggs that were part of the original dozen. I'd like to candle her eggs, but I hate to disturb her except to make sure she eats something. For being broody, Betty has a great disposition. The last few mornings I have been picking her up off the nest and placing her on the floor of the coop portion of my chicken tractor. Then I quickly sprinkle some scratch and crumbles on the ground right in front of her. That's the only way I can be sure that she is eating. When I take her off the nest she makes little soft gobbling noises, but never pecks me. She used to be very flighty before becoming broody, but now she's seems to be getting used to being handled. I couldn't ask for a sweeter hen. I think she is going to make a good mom about two weeks from now.

I find that I prefer thinking about the incubation time in weeks (3) rather than days (21). It just seems so much more tolerable that way.

So now it's just two weeks more until hatch date instead of 14 long days.

I'm only one-third as excited now as I'll be on hatching day.

~Donald

 

[d_rooster]

Update: I candled my five Silkie eggs tonight (12/4) which ended day 10. All five definitely had something more developed inside them. With four of the five I could see some major movement and kicking or fluttering around inside the egg. The fifth egg was very dark compared to the others and hard to see movement, but it still had what looked like an intact, large dark area, red veining, and no apparent blood ring. I am almost half way to hatching day.

I presently have what I'm calling "Hatcher's Hands" (a.k.a contact dermititis) which is very dry and cracking hands from the hand washing that I do each time before I handled the eggs or anything inside the incubator. I will really appreciate the new incubator with auto egg turner for the next batch.

 

[LoneCowboy]

I've candled a few off and on to see any changes. I still can't see any veining. I guess my light isn't bright enough. I'd relax a little if I could see some. I do have some dark spots that are much bigger than they were the first time, and some that haven't changed, and some that are there now that I didn't see before. I guess this hatch will be a surprise for me.

 

[JudyMcKinn]

I very seldom see movement when I candle eggs. So if there is veins, a dark blob, or if most of the egg is dark with a light air pocket in the last week or so, don't worry, they are developing. Lots of people on here talk about seeing lots of movement in the egg, and the egg rolling around 2 or 3 days before hatch, and I don't seem to have very much, if any, of either of those, but my eggs hatch just fine. I don't know if it is the type of chicken--some more active as embreo's, etc, or if I am not looking at the right time, or my light isn't bright enough, or if some of you eager beavers imagine some of this, or what.